M.A. de Andrés

Born in Segovia in 1969, Miguel Angel earned a degree in Agronomy with a specialization in animal husbandry from the Polytechnic University of Madrid.

After finishing his studies, he worked for 10 years in the production department of the genetics company, PIC España S.A., carrying out various responsibilities such as consulting farms that used PIC España genetics, and 5 years managing the selection and multiplication nucleus of 5200 sows that PIC España has in the province of Soria.

After leaving PIC España, he began working for PigCHAMP Pro Europa S. L., a multidisciplinary company that services farmers, laboratories and business related with animal production. Within PigChamp Pro Europa, his main responsibility is in the department of management and data analysis, although he also helps in other departments such as the environmental, project testing and veterinary consulting departments.

Traditional culling policies have a threshold number of farrowings after which sows are culled —after weaning. But, what would happen if this policy were to be modified to actually consider the performance of each sow?

This article discusses 4-week batch farrowing (4WBF), very common in small farms (250 sows) in some other countries, including France. Analysis will be based on a comparison with 3-week batch farrowing (3WBF).